One is Two
by bookworm12890
Summary: Sora's grown up with his friend Roxas- there's just the problem of no one else seeing him. So he's shipped off to a mental institute to battle whether his best friend is a figment of his imagination or not. T for potential cursing and violence.
1. Chapter 1

When Sora Safir was a young boy, he lived in Twilight Town with his mother and father. He loved living there, watching all the older kids in the Struggle tournaments and trying to learn how to skateboard with Hayner. This, however, was soon destroyed by a word he didn't understand: divorce.

His parents sat him down and tried to explain it, but he didn't want to listen. He wanted to stay in his hometown forever and ever with his family and his friends. But they made him listen and told them that they both loved him very much, but that they didn't love each other anymore. He refused to budge from his room for days, only leaving when they dragged him off for their court date to decide who would have custody over him.

Sora hated the courtroom. It smelled funny and lots of people he didn't know were there, plus a few scary looking policemen. (He knew policemen were nice and helpful, but he didn't like these.) He stood nervously from his place between his parents when the judge told him to come up (she looked nice, but the brunette didn't like her either because of what she was doing).

On the walk do the box thing in the front, the boy paused as he heard a voice.

"Don't worry," it said, "Everything will be ok."

He turned around, looking for who had spoken to him, but the only people he saw were his parents, his mother giving a soft, encouraging smile. That voice hadn't sounded like his parents at all... was someone else cheering him on?

Looking back on everything, Sora would have guessed that this is where it all started.

Several months later, the divorce was finalized. Sora's mother had gained custody over him, which meant that he would have to leave for her hometown with her. The goodbyes to his father and his friends was not something the boy wanted to do, but he did so with the promise he'd come back and visit.

His mother took his hand and lead him onto the train. It was almost empty, save for a few little old ladies in the back and boy around Sora's age. Sora went over to sit next to him, looking curiously at the boy. He had bright blue eyes, about the same color as Sora's, with blonde hair that spiked off in every direction. He smiled a little at the curious brunette. "Hi. I'm Roxas."

Sora beamed back. "I'm Sora"

"Sora? Who are you talking to?"

The boy looked back at his mother curiously before looking back at Roxas. To his surprise, the boy was gone. He frowned in confusion, but his mother just smiled knowingly. "Did you find a friend for the trip?" Sora nodded. "What's his name?"

"Roxas," he replied.

With another smile, she patted him on the head. "Well, don't worry. Once we get there, I'm sure you'll meet lots of nice people to be your friends." Sora tilted his head to the side, not seeming to understand. She just smiled and started to sit where Roxas had been.

"Don't sit there!" Sora said, pushing her back up, "What if he's still there? You'll squish him!"

She gave a little laugh. "Alright, dear. I'll sit over here instead." She sat across from him, watching her son as he looked back and saw Roxas again.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"No where," the blonde replied.

Sora looked a little confused, but shrugged it off. "Sooo if my mom HAD sat down, would you have been squished, right?"

"I doubt it," Roxas shrugged, "She doesn't look like she'd weigh very much."

The brunette paused before grinning mischievously. "Mom, Roxas says you're really pretty"

The boy turned beet red. "I didn't say that!"

The woman didn't seem to notice Roxas's protest, smiling. "Thank you, Roxas."

Sora frowned. "Mooom, you're not looking at him..."

Looking over at her son, she said, "I'm sorry, dear, but I can't see him."

Blinking, the small boy frowned. "Why not?"

"Well..." The woman chose her words carefully as her innocent son blinked at her. She didn't want to tell him his friend wasn't real, so she would have to come up with something. "Maybe it's because he's a friend just for you and not me."

"Oooh." Sora beamed, looking back at Roxas. "Did you hear that?"

Roxas nodded, smiling back at him. "So... we are friends, right?"

"Of course!" The brunette nodded vigorously, the two boys keeping each other company for the whole ride.

"Come on, Roxas, look over here!"

Sora was running around the new house with his friend in tow. He wasn't sure why Roxas was still there with him, but he wasn't complaining. They had explored most the outside and just had the upstairs to go when Sora's mother called for him.

"Sweetie, some of the neighbors have invited you to go play a game that their children are all involved in," she said brightly when the boy entered the kitchen again, "Why don't you go outside and play with them?"

"Can Roxas come too?" he asked, holding the other boy's hand.

"I don't think they invited him. Besides, I'd like for him to stay in here with me."

Sora frowned. "You said you can't see him."

"I can't, but it's nice to know someone's there even if I don't see them."

Biting his lip, Sora looked over at Roxas. "Go on," the blonde told him, "I'll always be around, so you should spend time with people you won't see as often, right?"

"You promise?" the brunette asked quietly, "That you'll always be around."

He nodded, smiling. "As long as you want me to be."

Beaming, Sora gave his friend a hug (which looked awful odd to his mother) before going outside to play with the other children. Their names were Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie and all treated him very nicely. That added to Sora's naturally outgoing nature made them friends very quickly.

To his mother's relief, Sora stopped talking about Roxas very quickly. She wouldn't have been worried if he had kept it up a little longer (after all, how many children didn't have imaginary friends?), but she was glad her boy was growing healthily in the real world.

What she didn't know, however, was just because Sora stopped talking about Roxas didn't mean he no longer saw or heard the boy. Sora heard Roxas's voice, sometimes without seeing him, and felt his presence inside of him on occasion as if the blonde boy was a direct part of him. In a way, to Sora at least, he was. And he wasn't afraid or bothered by it. It was nice to know that no matter what, someone would also be with him and by his side. If he woke up from a nightmare, Roxas was there, and if it was raining the two could play. It comforted him to have the other so close to him, and they grew together, one, but separate enough to clearly be two.

Author's Note: Yes, this was a cryptic first chapter. Most of them are like that. I've already written the next three chapters of this- go me!- so you'll at least get that much. 3 Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

Sora gave a slight whine, letting his head fall forward on his desk. Roxas was sitting on the bed, flipping through a book. "What now?" he asked in a dry tone.

"I hate chemistry," the brunette mumbled from the pages of his textbook, "You know all this stuff. Why can't you just tell me the answers?"

"Because that would be cheating," was the simple answer.

"Technically not really," the pouting high schooler stated, "We're kinda the same person, right?"

Over the years, it had become clear to Sora that Roxas couldn't be in a body that everyone could see. And from what the brunette could tell, he couldn't even stay like that all the time for just Sora to see him. When he heard his voice only, that's when Roxas was sharing his body. (He has also picked up several new talents now that they discovered Roxas could take over his movements and mind occasionally.)

"I can help you study, but I'm not telling you the answers," the blonde stated simply.

Sora sighed, tossing the textbook towards him and muttering, "I know most of it. It's those polyatomic ion things that I'm supposed to memorize."

Flipping to the correct page, Roxas started to drill him and quickly proved that Sora needed to study more. He didn't, however, because his mother called up the stairs.

"Sora, come down please. John's coming over for dinner, and I need your help." John was his mother's boyfriend, which made Sora a little uncomfortable. He was nice, though, so the boy dealt with it.

"Ok, mom," he said, getting up from his chair. Roxas was gone now, the book lying flat on the bed. Humming a strange tune, the brunette went happily down the stairs.

At school the next day, Sora sat in his Chemistry class and stared blankly at the last section of his test. Stupid polyatomic ions. "Roxaaas," he mumbled under his breath, "Help me please. I don't want to fail."

True to his word, Roxas remained totally silent. With a dejected sigh, Sora scribbled the first thing that came to mind with the hope that Roxas was sending it through his subconscious.

Trying to talk to Roxas during school proved to be a bad idea.

During gym, Seifer, the boy who sat behind Sora in class, strode over to him with his gang of friends. "So who were you talking to during the test?" he sneered, "Got someone giving you answers?"

"No!" the brunette said defiantly.

"Well then, what about a voice in your head?" Seifer laughed, shaking his head.

Sora pouted, crossing his arms. "What if I do?"

"Crazy," Fuu mono-toned.

"He's got to be to say something like that, ya know?" Rai interjected. Vivi nodded.

"Well, a good beating should knock him out of it, right?" Seifer said, pounding a fist into his palm.

Sora paled slightly. He wasn't a poor fighter, but four on one just wasn't _fair_.

"Sora," Roxas's voice stated. Sora would have grumbled something about him if he hadn't been in such a fix. "Let me do this."

For a brief moment, Sora's body seemed to relax a little. Then, his arms fell from their crossed position and slid calmly into his pockets. He looked up, and there was a somewhat smug air coming from him.

Then, he smirked.

"Changed," Fuu said.

Sora himself, however, didn't know any of this.

--

"Ow..." Sitting up, Sora rubbed his head and promptly lay back down because of the blood rush. He could hear voices nearby, but he was less concerned about that than on figuring out where he was. And how he had gotten there.

Slowly straightening this time, he found that he had somehow gotten into the clinic. Which was weird, because he didn't remember getting hurt. He also didn't remember fighting. With Seifer around, he must have, but...

"Sora!"

Turning his head, he was engulfed in a hug by Selphie instantly. "Oh my god, we were so worried! Never do that again!" She shook him violently to get her point across, Sora's head aching again. "That was so scary, when you-"

"Could you three please leave me alone with Sora for a moment?" Being separated from Selphie, Sora could see Wakka, Tidus, and now one of the school counselors also in the room.

The three left Sora and Ms. Gainsborough alone, the brown haired woman smiling as she sat down across from the very confused teenager. "Now, Sora," she said kindly, "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"Well, uh..." Sora frowned, "Seifer was talking to me and then was about to beat me up and I don't remember what happened after that."

The woman frowned. "Sora..."

"No, I really don't!" he said insistently, "I was about to get punched and Roxas said he'd handle it, so--"

"Roxas?" The young woman looked puzzled, "Seifer said you were talking to or about someone named that during your Chemistry test."

"Well, yea, but he didn't say anything back." He grumbled a little here.

"Who is Roxas?" Ms. Gainsborough pried gently.

Sora tried to think of a way to describe this. "Well, he's been my friend for a long time..."

"No, I mean why were you talking to him?"

"I wanted to know if he remembered the polyatomic things."

She sighed. "How can you tell if he responds?"

Sora blinked at her. "Uh. I hear his voice in my head?" He stated this as if wondering how else Roxas could be heard.

The woman paused, biting her lip. "Have you told anyone about Roxas before?"

He nodded. "My mom."

Standing, the woman patted his head almost sympathetically. "Alright. I'm going to go call your mother, ok?" She walked off, glancing back over at him before she shut the door.

"Why is she acting so weird?" Sora muttered, leaning back.

There was an exasperated sigh from no where in particular. "Sora, why did you tell her that?"

"'Cause it's true," he frowned, "Why?"

"She's trained in psychology. To her, you just described yourself as a prime case of schizophrenia."

Sora obviously didn't understand. "Shizowhat?"

If Roxas had a solid form, he would be hitting his head against the wall. "Schizophrenia. It's a mental disorder. She thinks you're insane."


	3. Chapter 3

Sora swung his legs nervously back and forth as he waited for his mother and the counselor to come into the room. He wasn't crazy. Really! He knew Roxas was real because he'd been around basically forever and he could see him and everything.

But... what if Roxas really wasn't real?

The door opened, Sora being squashed in a hug by his mother this time. "Mom, I'm fine. _Really_," he mumbled, wiggling out of her grip.

She was obviously not assured, looking like she was about to burst into tears. Sora bit his lip slightly as he looked up at her. "Mom, really... please don't cry."

Giving a weak smile, the woman patted his on the head. The two adults starting talking over the brunette's head, which really annoyed him. People hadn't done this since he was in middle school, and anyway it wasn't HIS fault he hadn't gotten a growth spurt yet. He decided to pay attention, since whatever they were talking about obviously concerned him.

"Normally, something that doesn't pose a threat to the person or people around them can be handled at home," Ms. Gainsborough was saying, "But there is something relatively nearby that's a special place for teenagers in order to help them still have normal social interactions. Living at home and attending school might be difficult for him if the diagnosis comes up positive... but think about until you take him and find out the results, alright?"

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked with a frown.

"Nothing, dear," his mother murmured distractedly, patting his head.

He pulled his head away slightly. "I'm not five, mom."

Since he was still denied an answer, he thought about asking Roxas if he knew. Considering the current situation, however, he was able to deduce that this was not the best idea ever so he kept his mouth shut. Not asking questions led to him to questions some things, though. He was the only one who could see Roxas and he always had been. Why was it like that if Roxas was real?

Being dismissed from school early, Sora was quiet in the car ride home. His mother didn't press him to speak, probably because she didn't feel like talking either. When they got home, she sent him upstairs and said she was going to make a doctor's appointment. Sora heard a voice mutter 'psychiatrist,' but he ignored it until he got up to his room. Roxas appeared almost instantly. "Are you ok?" he asked quietly.

"I dunno," the brunette mumbled, leaning against the foot his bed when he sank onto the floor, "I've never really been told I belong in an insane people place before. Well, not seriously anyway."

Sitting next to him, the other boy was quiet for a moment. "You don't think I'm real, do you."

Sora looked over at him. "Are you?"

"Yes."

The brunette frowned. "But you might just be _saying_ that. Because you're a figment of my imagination. Why did I ask you?"

Roxas sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Sora, if you're trying to be funny-"

"I'm not," he said quietly, "I'm not at all. It's kinda scary when you think about it. If you're not real, is everything we've done together not real too? I mean, I guess I could have done it all by myself, but that seems kinda weird. I don't want you to not be real." He leaned a little on Roxas's shoulder. "You seem real to me, but I don't know if that's enough. I don't my best friend to be someone my mind made up."

Roxas watched him a little sadly as they sat in silence. "What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

"Leave."

The caught the blonde a little off guard. "Sora, you can't leave."

"I wasn't talking about me." The brunette glanced over at the other boy as he stood again. "You have to leave, Roxas."

"Sora--"

"No." Sora covered his ears and shut his eyes tightly. "No. You're not real. You being real makes no sense at all and my mom and my friends are all going to be hurt if I'm crazy so you need to leave now."

There was dead silence, and Sora could tell because his ears weren't covered very well. After what seemed like hours, a hand touched his cheek comfortingly before vanishing. When he opened his eyes, Roxas was gone.

Sora went downstairs to find his mother, hoping to tell her that he didn't hear random voices anymore and that everything would be ok and that she could cancel the stupid appointment. When he got down there, however, he heard voices already talking. One was his mother, and the other was John, her boyfriend. She seemed to be distraught.

"Did I do something to advocate this?" she was saying, close to tears, "Roxas was his imaginary friend when he was little... did it develop into a mental issue because I wasn't around enough to take care of him? Was it because of the move? I just... I don't know. I don't know what I'm supposed to do about this!"

John was trying to sooth her, but she wouldn't be consoled. Sora decided maybe he should try again later, sneaking back up to his room with an immense feeling of guilt.

"Roxas?" he asked to thin air.

There was no reply from anywhere, emptiness filling the room. There was a similar emptiness in his chest and he remembered what he had said to Roxas just minutes before.

Sora had never been more lonely in his entire life.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this took so long! I got stuck in a 'The World Ends With You' rut (why is Joshua such an interesting character?!) and I'm still there, but I do have this chapter for you. XD

It had taken Sora a long time to get to sleep that night, but when he woke up the next morning the presence was back. Relief washed over him, and though he was a little worried as to why this had bothered him so much, he asked out loud, "Roxas?"

After a few moments, the blonde appeared in front of him, looking over at him. With a bright smile, Sora hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry about what I said," he told him, "I didn't mean it. I know you're real. I _know_ it. Please don't leave again, even if I tell you."

Roxas smiled a little at him, hugging him back. "It's ok."

The boy grinned, being the type to bounce back very easily. "I should probably get dressed. Mom said she managed to get a doctor's appointment for today." He climbed off of the bed and pulled off his pajamas as he rooted around for day clothes. Successfully finding a shirt, he pulled it over his head before looking back at Roxas. "Um. If the doctor asks me about you, what should I say?"

The blonde shrugged a little. "What do you want to say?"

A few hours later, Sora was in the psychiatrist's office, Roxas's presence still with him but not in sight. Dr. Merlin was a kindly old man with small spectacles and a long white beard. "So, how are you today, my boy?" he asked, patting the brown spikes lightly.

"Uuh. Ok, I guess," Sora replied, wondering if this was a trick question that would send him to his doom. Whatever his doom was.

"Now," he said, looking down at his papers, "Your mother tells me you have a friend named Roxas. Would you like to tell me about him?"

Sora frowned. "No."

"Nothing at all?"

"No."

The brunette wasn't about to make the same mistake as before. Maybe it would still work out if he didn't talk about Roxas...

Surprisingly, Merlin didn't ask about Roxas anymore. They talked about school, home, friends, and other normal stuff. Then the man went off to talk to Sora's mother while he sat alone in the hallway. He couldn't hear their conversation at all, no matter how much he tried. "Roxas," he asked quietly, making sure no one was around, "do you think not talking about you helped any?"

"Unfortunately, no," the blonde said, "He probably just figured that you knew what would happen if you talked about. It was a good try, though."

Sora sighed dejectedly and slumped down, waiting for his mother to return. It didn't take but too long, the woman coming out looking a little sad. "Mom?" he asked curiously upon her appearance.

She shook her head with a smile. "It's nothing, dear." She took his hand and tugged him gently out of the building, "Will you help me make dinner tonight? I want to do something special to spend time with you..."

That didn't sound good. At all. "Sure, but... Mom..."

Turning, she smiled sweetly, if not sadly, at him. "Yes, dear?"

"Why are we doing something special?"

The woman glanced away for a moment, looking like she was trying to come up with something to say. "...Dr. Merlin said it might be a good idea if you went somewhere else for a little while, so that the kids at school wouldn't pick on you or anything..."

"You mean like sending me to that asylum Ms. Gainsborough was talking about," he muttered quietly. His mother messed with his hair gently, not replying. Sora took that as a yes.

The drive home and the following preparing of dinner was an almost totally silent affair. Sora kept glancing at his mother, not saying anything because she looked like she might cry if she was asked anything.

Finally, the young boy gave her a comforting hug. "It'll be ok, Mom," he said, "I'm not crazy, so I'll be back home soon..."

She took a deep breath as she stroked her son's hair. "I hope so, sweetheart," she said simply.

Sora stayed home from school for the rest of the week while he awaited the day that he would have to go the asylum that he still didn't know the name of. Roxas, as always, kept him company, but it still felt weird with Roxas now they it was suspected that the blonde was just a figment of his imagination. Not that he believed that or anything, but it was just... weird.

On Friday Sora and his mother got in the car for the hour drive to the Medical Institute of Young People. It was a far from interesting route- this place seemed to be way out in the middle of no where. The brunette only had a small bag with some clothes, MP3 player, and various other items, so the idea of being far away from anything (since he normally associated this with camping) wasn't helping his nerves at all.

The time to get back out of the car came all too quickly as Sora and his mother made their way towards the entrance of the institute. A very bored looking blonde woman sat at the front desk, glancing over as they entered. A grin made its way onto her face and she sat up, asking, "Can I help you?" in a falsely sweet voice.

"Yes... my son is coming in for a trial evaluation," Sora's mother said, not sure what to make of this woman.

"Name?"

"Sora Safir," the boy said simply.

"Right, I remember hearing about you..." the woman said lightly, and then to his mother in a tone that suggested she had said this part a million times, "You're not allowed to visit for a month to prevent homesickness and to encourage emotional growth. Once you're done saying good-bye, I'll get someone to take him to get settled." She leaned back in her chair, scribbling something down.

Sora looked back at his mother and hugged her for a brief moment before letting go with a little smile. "I'll be ok. Don't worry."

Attempting to smile back, the woman squeezed her boy tightly. "Goodbye, Sora. I'll see you in a month, ok?"

After a few more awkward moments, she left the building, prompting the woman at the desk to sit up again. "Goodie, I love fresh meat" she stated as she smirked at the now very worried teenager. She turned her head and yelled, "Axel, your new kid is here!"

Sora turned as he heard footsteps, seeing a tall red haired man walking towards him. "We have an intercom system for a reason, Larxene," he said with a shake of his head. The girl shrugged and pulled out a book, ignoring the two boys. Ignoring her in return, the man looked down at Sora. "Hey there, kid. I'm Axel. Commit it to your memory, because you're stuck with me for your stay."


End file.
